Keywords
widening participation
attribute development
employability
data reinterpretation
How to Cite
Abstract
This article offers an interpretative reading of research interview data gathered with seven academics in a small English university that caters predominantly to widening participation students. The original interviews aimed to explore the most effective ways academics can support students in developing leadership capability. For this article, the author revisited the digital recordings of those original interviews and conducted an interpretive reanalysis of the data. This reanalysis aimed to ascertain the extent to which the conceptions of leadership that the academics hold align with the academic literature on the concept. Leadership is notoriously an ill-defined concept, and so, for this article, the author used Yukl’s (2012) taxonomy of leadership behaviours drawn from a systematic review of the literature as the basis for comparative analysis. The literature indicates that developing students’ leadership capability is a desirable educational outcome, but this presupposes that academics understand what the term leadership means. This article explores this by evaluating how well the academics' understanding of the concept of leadership aligned with the literature presented in Yukl’s (2012) taxonomy and considers the implications of this for their teaching. The article concludes with recommendations for adopting a coherent framework for academics to work within, especially for institutions that serve widening participation students. This article contributes to the knowledge of teaching practice by evaluating how well academics understand a concept they are (implicitly or explicitly) expected to teach and recommends further research to develop the scholarship.
References
Adler, P. A., & Adler, P. (1994). Observational techniques. In Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 377–392). Sage Publications, Inc.
Åkerström, M., Jacobsson, K., & Wästerfors, D. (2004). Reanalysis of Previously Collected Material (pp. 314–327). https://doi.org/10.4135/9781848608191.d27
Bass, B. M. (1990). From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, 18(3), 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(90)90061-S
Behle, H. (2020). Students’ and graduates’ employability. A framework to classify and measure employability gain. Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 4(1), 105–130. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322969.2020.1712662
Benmira, S., & Agboola, M. (2021). Evolution of leadership theory. BMJ Leader, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1136/leader-2020-000296
Benne, K. D. (1948). Leaders are Made, Not Born. Childhood Education, 24(5), 203–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.1948.10726014
Bicchi, F. (2024). Cultivating Communities of Practice: From Institutions to Practices. Global Studies Quarterly, 4(1), ksad076. https://doi.org/10.1093/isagsq/ksad076
Braun, V., Clarke, V., & Gray, D. (2017). Collecting Textual, Media and Virtual Data in Qualitative Research. In D. Gray, V. Clarke, & V. Braun (Eds.), Collecting Qualitative Data: A Practical Guide to Textual, Media and Virtual Techniques (pp. xxv–xxviii). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107295094.002
Breen, P. (2018). Insider research and ethical issues. In Developing Educators for The Digital Age: A Framework for Capturing Knowledge in Action. pp.39–56. London: University of Westminster Press. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.511903638002981
Bridgstock, R. (2009). The graduate attributes we’ve overlooked: Enhancing graduate employability through career management skills. Higher Education Research & Development, 28(1), 31–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360802444347
Burgess, S., & Thomson, D. (2023). Beyond the threshold: The implications for pupil achievement of reforming school performance metrics. Economics of Education Review, 97, 102477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2023.102477
Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership (pp. ix, 530). Harper & Row.
Caldwell, R. (2012). Systems Thinking, Organizational Change and Agency: A Practice Theory Critique of Senge’s Learning Organization. Journal of Change Management, 12(2), 145–164. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697017.2011.647923
Carlyle, T., & MacMechan, A. (with Harvard University). (1901). Carlyle on heroes, hero-worship, and the heroic in history; Boston, Ginn. http://archive.org/details/carlyleonheroes00macmgoog
Cassell, C. (2015). Conducting Research Interviews for Business and Management Students. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529716726
Chartered Management Institute. (2018). 21st Century Leaders—Building Employability Through Higher Education. Chartered Management Institute. https://www.managers.org.uk/knowledge-and-insights/research/building-employability-through-higher-education/
Clarke, M. (2018). Rethinking graduate employability: The role of capital, individual attributes and context. Studies in Higher Education, 43(11), 1923–1937. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2017.1294152
Cole, D., & Donald, W. (2022). Shifting the Narrative: Towards a More Holistic Approach for Learning. GiLE Journal of Skills Development, 2, 3–4. https://doi.org/10.52398/gjsd.2022.v2.i1.pp3-4
Collis, J., & Hussey, R. (2021). Business Research: A Practical Guide for Students (5th ed.). Bloomsbury. https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/business-research-9781352011814/
Cunningham, C., & Samson, C. (2021). Neoliberal Meritocracy: How ‘Widening Participation’ to Universities in England Reinforces Class Divisions. On Education. Journal for Research and Debate, 4(10). https://doi.org/10.17899/on_ed.2021.10.8
Deshwal, V., & Ashraf Ali, Mohd. (2020). A Systematic Review of Various Leadership Theories. Shanlax International Journal of Commerce, 8(1), 38–43. https://doi.org/10.34293/commerce.v8i1.916
Fellows, I. (2024). Supporting Widening Participation Students Without Creating Dependency or Leaving Them Unprepared for Work in the Neoliberal Era: A Discussion Paper. GILE Journal of Skills Development, 4(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.52398/gjsd.2024.v4.i1.pp95-103
Fiedler, F. E. (1967). A theory of leadership effectiveness. McGraw-Hill.
Fielding, N. G., & Fielding, J. L. (2000). Resistance and Adaptation to Criminal Identity: Using Secondary Analysis to Evaluate Classic Studies of Crime and Deviance. Sociology, 34(4), 671–689. https://doi.org/10.1177/S0038038500000419
Franzen-Waschke, U. (2022). Leadership Skills: What’s Expected? GiLE Journal of Skills Development. 2(2), 9-11. https://doi.org/10.52398/gjsd.2022.v2.i2.pp9-11
Friedman, S., & Laurison, D. (2019). The class ceiling: Why it pays to be privileged (1st ed.). Bristol University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv5zftbj
Giroux, H. A. (2014). Neoliberalism’s War on Higher Education. Haymarket Books.
Graen, G. B., & Uhl-Bien, M. (1995). Relationship-based approach to leadership: Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective. The Leadership Quarterly, 6(2), 219–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/1048-9843(95)90036-5
Graham, J. W. (1991). Servant-leadership in organizations: Inspirational and moral. The Leadership Quarterly, 2(2), 105–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/1048-9843(91)90025-W
Greene, M. J. (2014). On the Inside Looking In: Methodological Insights and Challenges in Conducting Qualitative Insider Research. The Qualitative Report. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/On-the-Inside-Looking-In%3A-Methodological-Insights-Greene/d35ce5ba698210647ade661f24e8f7f6413cdc39
Greenleaf, R. (2007). The Servant as Leader. In W. C. Zimmerli, M. Holzinger, & K. Richter (Eds.), Corporate Ethics and Corporate Governance (pp. 79–85). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-70818-6_6
Grix, J. (2004). The Foundations of Research. Palgrave Macmillan.
Gümüs, S., Bellibas, M., Esen, M., & Gümüs, E. (2018). A systematic review of studies on leadership models in educational research from 1980 to 2014. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 46, 25–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143216659296
Haque, E., Spencer, A., & Alldridge, L. (2021). Developing a UK widening participation forum. The Clinical Teacher, 18(5), 482–484. https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.13357
Heil, S., Reisel, L., & Attewell, P. (2014). College selectivity and degree completion. American Educational Research Journal, 51(5), 913–935. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831214544298
Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. H. (1969). Life cycle theory of leadership. Training & Development Journal, 23(5), 26–34.
Hodge, J. K. (2024). Widening access to higher education: A comparative historical review of first-generation students in England and the USA. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 0(0), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603108.2024.2411227
Howieson, C., & Minty, S. (2017). Access and beyond: Supporting Widening Participation students in three Scottish universities. Centre for Educational Sociology, University of Edinburgh. https://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv%3A79793
Jackson, B., & Parry, K. (2018). A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about Studying Leadership (3rd ed.). Sage. https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/a-very-short-fairly-interesting-and-reasonably-cheap-book-about-studying-leadership/book241192
Jenei, G., Sváb, Ágnes, & Zólyomi, A. (2024). Re-Thinking Teachers’ Roles for One-to-One Teaching: The Hungarian Perspective. GILE Journal of Skills Development, 4(2), 71–91. https://doi.org/10.52398/gjsd.2024.v4.i2.pp71-91
Johnson, A., Vernon, P., Mccarthy, J., Molson, M., Schermer, J., & Jang, K. (1998). Nature vs nurture: Are leaders born or made? A behavior genetic investigation of leadership style. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 1, 216–223. https://doi.org/10.1375/twin.1.4.216
Johnson, T. P. (2014). Snowball Sampling: Introduction (R. S. Kenett, N. T. Longford, W. W. Piegorsch, & F. Ruggeri, Eds.; 1st ed.). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118445112.stat05720
Jones, C. S. (2021). An investigation into barriers to student engagement in Higher Education: Evidence supporting ‘the psychosocial and academic trust alienation theory’. Advances in Educational Research and Evaluation, 2(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.25082/AERE.2021.02.002
Marsh, S., & Quinn, R. (2019, March 23). Brexit march: ‘1 million’ rally for people’s vote - as it happened. The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/mar/23/brexit-hundreds-of-thousands-expected-to-march-for-peoples-vote-london-live-updates
Matsouka, K., & Mihail, D. (2016). Graduates employability: What do graduates and employers think? Industry and Higher Education, 30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950422216663719
Mee, E. (2019, April 1). Brexit petition to revoke Article 50 hits 6 million signatures. Sky News. https://news.sky.com/story/brexit-petition-to-revoke-article-50-hits-6-million-signatures-11680597
Mehrad, A., Fernandez Castro, J., & Gonzalez Gómez de Olmedo, M. P. (2020). A systematic review of leadership styles, work engagement and organizational support. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science, 9(4 (july)), 66–77. https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v9i4.735
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J. (2018). Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook. SAGE Publications.
Molesworth, M., Nixon, E., & Scullion, R. (2009). Having, being and higher education: The marketisation of the university and the transformation of the student into consumer. Teaching in Higher Education, 14(3), 277–287. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562510902898841
Morgan, D. L. (2014). Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Methods: A Pragmatic Approach. SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781544304533
Ní Chorcora, E., Bray, A., & Banks, J. (2023). A systematic review of widening participation: Exploring the effectiveness of outreach programmes for students in second-level schools. Review of Education, 11(2), e3406. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3406
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice. SAGE Publications.
O’Grady, F., & Fairbarn, C. (2019, March 21). CBI and TUC call on Prime Minister to change Brexit approach | CBI. Confederation of British Industry. https://www.cbi.org.uk/media-centre/articles/cbi-and-tuc-call-on-prime-minister-to-change-brexit-approach/
Oliver, B. (2015). Redefining graduate employability and work-integrated learning: Proposals for effective higher education in disrupted economies. Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 6, 56. https://doi.org/10.21153/jtlge2015vol6no1art573
Osmani, M., Weerakkody, V., Hindi, N., Al-Esmail, R., Eldabi, T., Kapoor, K., & Irani, Z. (2015). Identifying the trends and impact of graduate attributes on employability: A literature review. Tertiary Education and Management, 21, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2015.1114139
O’Sullivan, K., Byrne, D., Robson, J., & Winters, N. (2019). Who Goes to College via Access Routes? A Comparative Study of Widening Participation Admission in Selective Universities in Ireland and England. Social Inclusion, 7, 38. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v7i1.1647
Perera, K. (2021). Interviewing academic elites: A discourse analysis of shifting power relations. Qualitative Research, 21, 146879412092420. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794120924208
Pierog, A. (2023). Instead of competencies, leadership qualities are a new direction in leadership development. GILE Journal of Skills Development, 3(1), 3–6. https://doi.org/10.52398/gjsd.2023.v3.i1.pp3-6
Rayner, G., Swinford, S., & Hope, C. (2019, March 18). John Bercow causes ‘major constitutional crisis’ by blocking third vote on Brexit deal. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/03/18/john-bercow-causes-major-constitutional-crisis-blocking-third
Reddy, P., & Moores, E. (2008). Widening Access to Higher Education: An evaluative case study of a foundation year alternative to Access. Psychology Teaching Review, 14. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpsptr.2008.14.1.51
Rock, D. (2009). sCARF: A brain-based model for collaborating with and influencing others. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/sCARF-%3A-a-brain-based-model-for-collaborating-with-Rock/246d58374549e76eef6258941502216b2d8b0bdf
Rog, D. (2012). When background becomes foreground: Toward context-sensitive evaluation practice. New Directions for Evaluation, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.20025
Rost, J. C. (1993). Leadership Development in the New Millennium. Journal of Leadership Studies, 1(1), 91–110. https://doi.org/10.1177/107179199300100109
Schriesheim, C. A., Castro, S. L., & Cogliser, C. C. (1999). Leader–member exchange (LMX) research: A comprehensive review of theory, measurement, and data-analytic practices. The Leadership Quarterly, 10(1), 63–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(99)80009-5
Senge, P., Hamilton, H., & Kania, J. (2015). The Dawn of System Leadership. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 13(1), 27–33.
Shtaltovna, Y. (2024). Rewriting the Future: How Metamodern Education Can Redefine Society and Leadership. GILE Journal of Skills Development, 4(2), 112–121. https://doi.org/10.52398/gjsd.2024.v4.i2.pp112-121
Sikes, P. (2004). Methodology, procedures and ethical concerns. Doing Educational Research, 15–33.
Silverman, D. (2015). Interpreting Qualitative Data. SAGE.
Smith, W. K., & Lewis, M. W. (2011). Toward a theory of paradox: A dynamic equilibrium model of organizing. The Academy of Management Review, 36(2), 381–403. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.2011.59330958
Stogdill, R. M. (1948). Personal Factors Associated with Leadership: A Survey of the Literature. The Journal of Psychology, 25(1), 35–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.1948.9917362
Stuart, M., Lido, C., Morgan, J., Solomon, L., & May, S. (2011). The impact of engagement with extracurricular activities on the student experience and graduate outcomes for widening participation populations. Active Learning in Higher Education, 12, 203–215. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787411415081
Surendran, S., Mack, K., Bingham, N. M., Edwards, N., Frost-Schenk, J., Keshishi, N., Matos, F., Moldoveanu, J., Walsha, R., & Bodman-Smith, K. (2023). The use of extracurricular hackathons to promote and enhance students’ academic and employability skills. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 5, 100307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2023.100307
Taran, Y. (2023). The Challenge of Authentic Leadership in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous Business Environment. In R. V. Turcan, J. E. Reilly, K. M. Jørgensen, Y. Taran, & A. I. Bujac (Eds.), The Emerald Handbook of Authentic Leadership (pp. 125–144). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80262-013-920231004
Thomas, L. (2020). Excellent Outcomes for All Students: A Whole System Approach to Widening Participation and Student Success in England. Student Success, 11(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.v11i1.1455
Turnbull, H., & Murphy, L. (2024). Re-visiting the Leadership Gap: How to lead in a task-focused work system. GILE Journal of Skills Development, 4(1), 151–156. https://doi.org/10.52398/gjsd.2024.v4.i1.pp151-156
UK Parliament. (2019). Votes in Parliament (from 18 March 2019 to 1 April 2019) [Dataset]. gov.uk. https://votes.parliament.uk/Votes/Commons?SearchText=&FromDate=18%2F03%2F2019&ToDate=01%2F04%2F2019
van Dierendonck, D. (2011). Servant leadership: A review and synthesis. Journal of Management, 37(4), 1228–1261. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310380462
Wästerfors, D., Åkerström, M., & Jacobsson, K. (2014). Reanalysis of Qualitative Data. In U. Flick (Ed.), The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Data Analysis (pp. 467–480). SAGE Publications.
White, J. P. (2024). Unlocking Potential With Multimodal Learning and Assessment: A Discussion of the Barriers and Benefits. GILE Journal of Skills Development, 4(2), 106–111. https://doi.org/10.52398/gjsd.2024.v4.i2.pp106-111
Yin, R. K. (2016). Qualitative research from start to finish, 2nd ed. The Guilford Press.
Yukl, G. (2012). Effective Leadership Behavior: What We Know and What Questions Need More Attention. Academy of Management Perspectives, 26, 66–85. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2012.0088
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 Ian Fellows